Book 1 Countdown: 'I Think It's Going to be a Blockbuster Sale'

NEWMARKET, UK–There may be some pretty important racing going on across the Channel, but Sunday morning at Park Paddocks was all business as buyers from across the world assembled to assess the potential stars of Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

Tense though these last few days of inspections can be, one man who can permit himself a small smile of satisfaction is Adrian O'Brien of Hazelwood Bloodstock.

The back cover of the Tattersalls catalogue traditionally features photographs of some of the sale's key recent graduates, and of the four shown this year, two are Hazelwood alumni: the GI Belmont Oaks winner McKulick (GB) (Frankel (GB)}) and the GI Diana S. victrix In Italian (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). Sold at Book 1 in 2019 and 2020 respectively, the duo landed their top-flight wins in consecutive weekends back in July, emphasising the strong American theme that has underpinned the sale for a number of years and is only intensifying.

“It has been amazing,” says O'Brien, beaming under his customised McKulick baseball cap as a loose-walking son of freshman sire Magna Grecia (Ire) strolls up and down in front of him. The colt (lot 200) is a half-brother to the G2 Royal Lodge S. winner Royal Patronage (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) and was bred by Emma Capon from the Aga Khan-bred mare Shaloushka (Ire) (Dalakhani {Ire}).

“We had McKulick and In Italian from previous drafts and to win two Grade Is in a week was incredible,” he continues. “Of our 10 this year, which is our biggest Book 1 draft by far, we've got four Dubawis, three colts and a filly, and they are all lovely, quality animals. Then there's a colt and a filly by Kingman (GB), a full-brother by Frankel to Hans Andersen (GB), a very good 2-year-old colt in Ireland, a beautiful Siyouni (Fr) colt, and representatives from the first crops of Too Darn Hot (GB) and Magna Grecia (Ire), so we're loaded.”

Twenty-six sons and daughters of the Darley powerhouse Dubawi grace the pages of Book 1, and as O'Brien outlines, he is fortunate enough to be consigning a quartet comprised of a half-brother to Group 1 winner Barney Roy (GB) (Excelebration {Ire}) (lot 328); a son of Ring The Bell (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) (lot 167), who is a sister to the Group 1-winning trio of Hydrangea (Ire), Hermosa (Ire) and The United States (Ire); another colt (lot 278) whose dam is a sister to the Galileo brothers Highland Reel (Ire) and Idaho (Ire), and a filly (lot 302) who also emanates from Barney Roy's family and is the first foal of his stakes-placed half-sister Wisdom Of Mind (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}).

The market appears to be very strong and I would like to think that the quality here this week will emphasise the strength of the market

The one representative of Dubawi's freshman son Too Darn Hot in the draft is a filly from the stellar Niarchos family of Alpha Centauri (Ire), Alpine Star (Ire) and Discoveries (Ire), those three Group 1 winners being half-siblings to her dam Sellsabeel (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Offered on Wednesday as lot 194, she will be sold five lots before the full-brother to the Sun Bloodstock-bred Hans Andersen. The Frankel colt was a 450,000gns Coolmore purchase last year and beat Al Riffa (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) when breaking his maiden in July before running second in the G2 Futurity S.

“It's becoming more common in conversation to hear about the strength of stallions standing in the Newmarket area in particular, and also elsewhere in the UK. We're blessed with high quality that is attracting breeders from all over the world,” says O'Brien, who runs Hazelwood Bloodstock with his wife Philippa from Red House Stud just outside Newmarket.

“The market appears to be very strong and I would like to think that the quality here this week will emphasise the strength of the market. I think it's going to be a blockbuster sale.”

Even with one of Europe's most prestigious race-days taking place on Sunday, the yards at Park Paddocks were already buzzing with action from early in the morning.

“It's a huge week and we've already been pretty busy,” adds O'Brien. “It's always a funny weekend with Longchamp on and a lot of people have commitments there, but all the right people seem to be on the ground here, and there's a lot of overseas interest, so it all looks like it's going to be a great week.”

Just across from Hazelwood Bloodstock's spot in Highflyer's K yard can be found a swanky new development in the Solario yard. The old American barn has been demolished to be replaced with regular stables and rubberised walkways with a smart flint-walled bridge for access.

Clearwater Stud, Oaks Farm Stables, Shadwell, and Book 1 newcomers Haras du Castillon from France, and Germany's Gestut Haus Ittlingen are among the consignors to be housed in the new facilities which appeared to be going down well. It's easy to feel a spring in one's step when the sun is shining on an autumn morning, and Luke Lillingston is rarely to be found without a smile on his face, but as he strides past full of purpose during his morning inspection rounds, he offers an opinion of the bluebloods assembled at Tattersalls for Europe's flagship yearling sale.

“Do you know, I really do think this is the best group of horses I have ever seen here,” says the master of Mount Coote Stud. By Tuesday, we will begin to learn whether he's right, but all the signs seem to be pointing in the right direction.